You can promote your products, generate sales and leads and use it for other commercial purposes without any worries.

But first, you may want to convert your personal profile into a business account (or if you don’t have a personal account, just start fresh with one for business).

Here are some tips on how you can take advantage of this update and use Pinterest commercially to promote your business.

#1: Promote Holiday Products

A great way to drive sales is to create boards where you pin holiday products. This could be Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Mother’s Day or any other day that is of significance to your audience.

You can use Pinterest to show your audience that you’ve got what they need to celebrate.

The first thing you need to do is create a board based on that holiday and label it with a board name, description and category.

After that, you can begin pinning relevant products from your website to this board. You could also upload the images directly to Pinterest, but in this case make sure the image leads to a landing page on your website where people can make a purchase.

Write a good description to let readers know how they can use your product during this holiday. You can also add the price.

Rearrange your holiday-themed boards so that they’re at the top of your profile page during the appropriate season so they stand out (and don’t forget to add a good cover image).

On this board, you’ll find pins of products from their website for Christmas, along with detailed descriptions and labels, which all ultimately lead to a landing page to buy the item. This is a great way to market their products on Pinterest.

Check out the board to see how well it’s been done.

#2: Group Products Around a Theme

Another creative way of using your Pinterest brand page is to promote your products using a theme. This could be a theme around colors, designs, materials, ingredients, locations or anything else that’s interesting and can be categorized.

After you choose a theme, create several boards based on that theme.

For example, if you choose the color theme, create several boards where you plan to pin products of different colors. Label them accordingly, with different color names and arrange them side by side, so users know that the boards collectively form a theme.

Once you have set up the boards correctly, start pinning products of that color onto that board and add a good description (make sure you mention the color here too). This is a creative way to market your business, as people can easily find products of their favorite color.

This method is also good for search engine optimization (SEO), especially when you mention the keyword (color) in the board title, board description and pin description.

Displaying your products around a theme can increase engagement and drive sales.

A company that is promoting its products around a theme on Pinterest is Debenhams, a chain of stores in the UK.

On their Pinterest page, they have several boards labeled with names of designers like John Rocha, Betty Jackson and Jenny Packham. They also have each designer’s photo set as their board cover.

On this board they share clothes and accessories created by the designer. Fans can visit that board to check out the creations of that designer instead of visiting the website and browsing through hundreds of clothing items and accessories. This can help generate traffic and increase sales.

You can also promote your products in a similar way. Just make sure you choose a title under which you can group many of your products together. And don’t hesitate to experiment with different methods and themes. If something doesn’t work, you can always delete the boards and pins and create new ones.

#3: Highlight Your Popular Products

People like popular products. When they know that a product is selling well and everyone else is buying it, they want to get a hold of it before they miss out. This is one of the reasons why there’s the Amazon bestseller list and the option to look at the most popular products on online stores.

Once your products reach that list and are easily visible to your website visitors, they are likely to sell even better.

You can take advantage of this same idea on Pinterest too and list your most popular products.

First, create a board with a title and description to tell readers this is where they can find your most popular products. After that, pin some images of your most popular products here and add descriptions. You could also add the rank of the product.

Make sure you write everything about the product—include the price, whether the product is a limited edition and add a call to action asking users to check out the product or buy it.

Also make sure you update the board regularly. Remove products no longer available and replace them with hot new items.

Create a bestsellers or a top-sellers board and pin your most popular products to it.

Top 40 Best Sellers is a board on Gourmet Display’s Pinterest brand page, where they pin 40 of their best-selling products for food and beverage displays. This is a great way to further increase the sales of these products.

The board has a good name and a well-written description, which instantly tell you what the board contains. The pins have both an attractive image and a good description and they lead to a page where the product can be purchased.

#4: Generate Leads

Another way to use your Pinterest page is to generate leads. First, create some quality content (such as ebooks, white papers, reports, case studies, etc.) that is gated with an opt-in form on a landing page.

Then add a short description about the content on the landing page along with an attractive image that is also the cover image of your file. After that, pin this image onto a board where you share your premium content. Write a brief description about it with a call to action that asks people to visit your website to sign up.

Using your brand page to generate leads can be easier than trying to push sales.

An example is the Free Marketing Resources board on Team MarketingProfs’ brand page, where you will find pins of their free marketing resources. Here, instead of directly marketing their services, MarketingProfs asks its followers to download their marketing materials for free. Many of these resources can only be accessed by providing an email address.

This is a great way to generate leads from potential customers who can be marketed to later. It’s a lot easier than trying to get them to buy your products or use your services right away.

#5: Build an Audience and Then Sell

The ultimate goal of your campaign is to generate leads and sales for your services and products. In fact, it would be nice to start generating sales as soon as you set up your brand page, but on Pinterest you want to take your time doing this.

You need to build an audience first. And after you gain followers, you can start promoting your products.

On Facebook and Twitter or other social networks where you share posts every day, you might be able to promote your products more than once daily. But on Pinterest, the best way to promote items is to create a dedicated board where you pin the products you want to sell.

Remember, you want to pin your products only once because if you do it over and over again, you’ll appear to be overpromoting yourself.

When you first pin one of your products, you want to get as many initial likes, repins and comments as possible. This will add social proof to your products, encourage users to check out the product and increase the likelihood of more direct shares in the future.

So focus on building an audience first by sharing content regularly and then pin your products to your page.

Focusing on building an audience first will make it easy for you to drive sales later.

These numbers add social proof, encourage users to visit the site and repin the cookbook right away. And when she pins something new to this board, she will automatically get repins and likes because she has already built an audience. The board currently has more than 15,000 followers.

So focus on building an audience first and share your products after you have achieved this.

Use Pinterest to Promote Your Business

As you can see, there are several ways you can highlight your products on Pinterest. Have a look to see how other businesses are using their Pinterest accounts and figure out which your audience might like best. Choose the boards that will work best for you.

Have you been using Pinterest brand pages to promote your business? What’s worked for you? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

Mitt Ray is the author of the book White Paper Marketing and the founder of Social Marketing Writing, where you can download his free Pinterest Marketing Video Tutorial. Follow him on @MittRay. Other posts byMitt Ray »

I’ve noticed that Humor and Motivation pins get much more attention/traffic to the board. I’ve created some niche boards on one account like “ergonomic desk setup” that don’t get as much attention, though more traffic comes to the site from it for those interested.

Question is if I find a post I want to Pin that would be relevant / helpful to the viewer and the pin links to someones blog, in the description is it not ok to include a link to your site or is that not any-longer from Pinterest?

http://www.EntrepreneurOnFire.com/ John Lee Dumas

Great post Mitt! I’m using Pinterest to promote my latest podcast interview as well as my Youtube videos. Just one question, I receive invitations to post pins on some boards and I accepted some of them, and I make it a point to pin most of updates of my podcast on those boards instead of creating a board for them. Which do you think is better, creating my own or posting them on boards from other pinners? Looking forward to your answer! Thanks!

Pinterest has been a little puzzling channel for me. I have not put in place a large strategic effort there for my personal profile, and still I receive fairly decent traffic from this channel.

Last year some of my friends in the Hotel Marketing sector did a larger case study on Pinterest and the effect it had on Hotels. The results was that Pinterest worked really well for Brand Awareness, and many repinned their images.

Despite of this ROI and traffic stats did not score well. And in the case-study it was indicated that Pinterest was time consuming. I think the time consuming part was in direct correlation with that the ROI and traffic did not spike from their efforts.

So I will apply some if your tips here to my own effort to add more strategy, and see if can share some valuable tips with my Hotel friends.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers..

Are Morch
Hotel Blogger

Dara Khajavi

When Pinterest first came out, I did not understand why people used it. I would use Pinterest to look up recipes, crafts, and more without creating boards. Eventually, I began creating the boards and following brands. Pinterest offers an unique opportunity for a business to brand itself. Your tips are incredibly helpful, and I will definitely utilize them.

I have a question for you. How do you think Pinterest can make itself profitable?

http://cindyking.biz/ Cindy King

Hey Are! Thanks for your feedback on this. It’s interesting to note.

Cakap Niaga

Thanks for sharing this post, I’m waiting for long time for this type of feature appears on Pinterest. Got to go back active on Pinterest.

Thanks a lot for the post. It’s really helpful and I’ll use some of your ideas on my Pinterest profile.

BettyBlueEyes

We have a Pinterest page for our organization (MinetaTrans) and would like to know how to leverage the site for non-product organizations. For now, we’re posting items that are related to our line of business (transportation research), but it’s been hard to get followers. Most Pinterest users seem more interested in posts related to personal interests rather than business interests. Would you say that this aspect of Pinterest is still developing? Are we on the “bleeding edge?”

BettyBlueEyes

Sorry. This was our first attempt at posting here. See the successful post above.

http://twitter.com/hytare Pamela Diaz

hey!, I’m not an expert in pinterest but I have been invited to pin in others boards and for what I know the idea is not for you to promote yourself, but to actually pin pictures that relate to the board. If your podcast is perfect for the board you collaborate, then, go ahead! if not, it’s better if you pin to your own board and in the ones you collaborate just repin stuff. It will show in the pin that the photo is yours.

Debbie Clement

Pinterest is my number one referral source to my blog. I am building up a following through organic use — acting as a curator of pins (image + link) to information that my readers will find useful. In the process my own P following increases. I think that making an impact on P involves time and consistent use. I’m THRILLED with my ROI. As an author-illustrator and speaker I have had numerous connections to $$ due to my participation at P.

Sonia Barton

When you create a business page do you end up with two accounts a personal and a business?

Sonia Barton

please create your own board, selfish on my part. Edit – don’t name it your name be more general like Hot Marketing tips or something like that.

Sarah Bauer

Excellent ideas here! I’d suggest that brands start strong with rich, engaging photos of their products and/or the products in action. It’s important to prioritize photo quality because that is what will encourage repins and increase page visibility.

Cheers!
Sarah Bauer
Navigator Multimedia

mary

Question: Can you create a board for frequently recommended products for your clients (that you don’t sell yourself) and use affiliate marketing on Pinterest?

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Hi @google-386442252cb2e87d914f3b0f5cb967cb:disqus,

Thank you for your comment. Hope you find them helpful.

I think at the moment Pinterest should focus on getting more users and building a bigger audience. After that’s done they should focus on becoming profitable. Maybe they could switch back to generating revenue with affiliate sales as they did in the past. They could also try out ads like the other networks.

Mitt

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Thank you @JohnLeeDumas:disqus!

You should do both. When you share it on the group boards you are sharing it with the followers of that board. This can give your podcast and videos some extra exposure and can help you attract followers from that board. But you also want to share it with your own followers – so create a couple of boards about your podcast and videos and post them there too.

Thank you for your insights and for letting us know about the highlights of the case study. Hope these tips work for you and your friends.

Mitt

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Hi @c9575301d241e41f472cc322b0585cb5:disqus,

You can create a board for frequently recommended products, but you can’t use affiliate links. Even if you use them – they won’t work as Pinterest doesn’t encourage it.

Thank you for your comment.

Mitt

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Hi @twitter-26088816:disqus,

Yes, if you create a new business page you will end up with two accounts. But if you convert your personal account into a business account you will just have the one account.

Thank you for your comment.

Mitt

http://aremorch.com/ Are Morch

Thanks Mitt Ray and Cindy King for the response.

I have to admit Images was something until not long ago that did not really speak to my DNA. So I am learning here.

No doubt for my niche Images is a very important part of the presentations. So it is really great to get some input that helps me better understand how to utilize the value of Social Networks like Pinterest.

Cheers..

Are Morch
Hotel Blogger

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Hi Mike,

When you pin a post from another blog, it would be okay to include the link to that post in your description. It wouldn’t be okay to include a link to your site. Pinterest isn’t just about self promotion, it’s about promoting others too and including a link to your site in the description when the pin doesn’t lead there can be annoying. So please avoid doing that.

Mitt

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Hi @sarah_bauer:disqus,

Thank you for your comment and for your tips.

Mitt

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Hi @twitter-18618833:disqus,

Thank you for your comment.

Mitt

http://www.sociallysorted.com.au/ Donna Moritz

Great article Mitt! I will be sharing this one! Love the idea of bestseller boards!

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

You’re welcome @916231d8d64f44ab8b7864cf95ee3cf6:disqus!

Thank you for your comment.

Mitt

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

You’re welcome @google-7410cd7632d6ca428d57c12e9c788fc7:disqus!

Thank you for your comment.

Mitt

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Hi @twitter-334116743:disqus,

If you keep pinning consistently the followers will come eventually Maybe you could join a group board under your niche and try and attract followers from there.

Along with the business oriented pins you need to share some pins that are related to the personal interests of your fans. This will help you attract board followers and you can then gradually work on this and find followers who will be interested in following you completely.

Just look for images and posts that your target audience will find helpful and pin them.

Mitt

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Hi Donna,

Thank you for your comment and for sharing.

Mitt

Guest

Pinterest is a really underrated socialmedia site as far as companies go. I really like how you were able to find these companies producing their product so well and I think we will start seeing a much more company-dominated Pinterest in the upcoming years.

jeanessapr

Great post as always but I am wondering how to use Pinterest to sell my services as a PR consultant. It´s always a challenge to sell something intangible as oppose to products. Thank you.

Can you put a link to your company in the comments section of pinterest? Also, what would be the best way to attract a certain group of people instead of products. Say your trying to target physicians. What’s the best strategy. I loved the article but would like to see options for company’s who don’t sell products. Thanks!

http://about.me/alialmoosawi Ali Almoosawi

Very good tips! Thanks for sharing it with us..

Ed

Hi Mitt,

This is a great article. May I translate it into Spanish and publish in my blog. Always keeping a link to the original article… ?
Thanks.

That’s not up to me. You will need to contact Social Media Examiner about it.

Mitt

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Hi Alicia!

If you write a long meaningful comment where you explain something, then maybe you could add a link back to your blog where people can learn more.

The best way to do that would be to join a group board to which physicians contribute or follow.

Mitt

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Thank you Jean!

A great way to do that would be to share a lot of useful content – some created by you and a lot more created by others.

Mitt

http://www.mittray.com Mitt Ray

Thank you for your comment!

Mitt

http://etahmid.com/ Tahmid Ahmed

I like your tips #2 and #3. Great! For updating regularly is there any tools to schedule my pins? @mittray:disqus

http://www.facebook.com/annbuik1 Ann Buik

I am so excited about the business opportunities afforded by Pinterest! It is so VISUAL and CREATIVE and people can see at a glance what is on offer without having to read through ‘stuff’. It is so easy to create appealing themes and special occasions around which to display products and services. I love it!

jeanessapr

Thanks for the feedback!

Panayiotis Panayides

I am in the real estate business, unfortunately Pinterest does not have such a category so I am left wondering where to attach my for sale items.
Any ideas??

I’ve been using Pinterest for about a year without any sales for my product. I know I have lovely boards, recently converted to a business board & just had a professional critique &so things might change once I make some changes. Love creating original pins, repining & will use your great tips as I make my modifications. Thanks.

http://twitter.com/McKinneyPR Claire McKinney

Although Facebook and Twitter are a go-to for promoting your company and products, Pinterest is something I haven’t considered. Thank you for this post and tips, Pinterest may definitely come in handy in the near future!

Chukwunonso Nwankpa

This is quite an informative article. Did no I could use pinterest to do more

I would ALWAYS cite the source of the pin. But you can hyperlink pins to your site since I’m pretty there aren’t any regulations against that. Please let me know if I’m incorrect.

Rita

Your post is really helpful for me. I’ve used pinterest to promote our products for a while. I sell jewlery thing. So, I created a board, fashion jewelry which helps me get some audience. My question is should I pin my products to that board or it is wise to pin my jewelry to new boards which set based on our categories names like bracelets, necklace… If I pin products to that jewelry board, our products may seems messed up with many other pins. If I pin products to different boards, I am afraid that items will get attention as fast as jewelry board does. Thanx